The Kraków part of the celebrations of the Year of Nicolaus Copernicus opened with a lecture by Prof. Aleksander Skotnicki entitled ‘Copernicus in Kraków. From Kraków to Copernicus’, which took place on 26 January 2023 in JU Collegium Maius.
The celebrations will reach their highest point with the World Copernican Congress, to be hosted by three Polish Universities closely related to the great astronomer: the University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn, Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń and Jagiellonian University. Accompanying events will be organised throughout the year.
During the lecture, Prof. Skotnicki presented the chronology of Nicolaus Copernicus’ life from his arrival at the Kraków university together with his brother to the legacy he left behind and the various ways in which it was immortalised.
He also mentioned the efforts of Polish scholars who carried out their studies based on Copernicus’ discoveries or in various ways tried to preserve his memory, such as astronomer Hilary of Wiślica, astronomer and mathematicians Walery Fontana, mathematician Jan Brożek, historian and geographer Bishop Marcin Kromer and politician and architect Prelate Sebastian Sierakowski, just to name a few.
The meeting ended with a discussion on the proposal of moving the statue of Nicolaus Copernicus from its current location in Planty Park back to the Collegium Maius courtyard, where it stood before the then-director of JU Museum Stanisław Estreicher decided it should be relocated, since it impeded organisation of various public events. Although the proposal was met with enthusiastic reaction, there were also voices calling for careful consideration and consultations with art historians and conservation officers.
